Reality TV
by fortheloveofawerewolf
Summary: Katniss and Peeta star on a reality tv show, and Haymitch and Effie think it's a good idea to set them up as lovers. Halfway through the second season, they decide it's time to play up the romance in real life, and make the two move in together. AU
1. Intro

"I don't fucking believe it." Peeta threw his hands up. He looked back at Haymitch Abernathy, the son of a bitch he called his agent.

"Well you fucking better." Haymitch retorted with a smirk. He knew more than anyone else, he always did. Peeta squinted as he tried to figure out his angle.

"Why? Why do you make me do this?" Katniss grumbled from her corner of the couch. Peeta looked over at her. "Aren't we doing well enough? We're rich as shit, what more needs to happen?"

"You need to stay rich as shit, otherwise you're just on the list of has-beens." Haymitch told them, looking over at Effie as she tapped her tablet rapidly.

"I almost have it set up. Your show makes you pretty relevant, but we need something big, something exciting. Reality TV only reaches so many people." She chirped, looking up and putting her tablet on the table. "I've alerted the media, start packing your boxes, Katniss." Katniss groaned.

"Already? I thought I'd at least have a couple days."

"I don't even have a fucking room for her!" Peeta scowled at his media representative. She smiled back.

"Of course not, you'll be staying in the same room, you're a loving, happy couple, remember?"

Katniss gagged.

"Please, Effie, I just ate."

"You move in today, girl." Haymitch told her, and it was final. "You and the boy are going to live together until further notice and if anyone catches wind that you secretly hate each other, all hell will break loose. Got it?" Katniss and Peeta both nodded. Katniss silently rose and left the room, heading upstairs to her apartment to start packing her stuff, mumbling curses the whole way. Peeta rolled his eyes as he watched her go, then turned to drive home and clean up his place so Katniss could have some room. He didn't really care that much if she thought he was a slob, but he also wanted to at least try to make the situation livable.

 **Katniss and Peeta are main characters on a reality tv show, and they fake a romance that ends up taking off. Haymitch and Effie break it to them that the best way to keep them on top of the food chain is to have them move in together and really play up the romance.**


	2. PART 1: HATRED

"Alright, last of all." Effie clapped her hands, making Peeta jump. "How do you answer questions about your relationship?"

"Don't tell them anything," Katniss recited in a bland monotone, "Just tease them and flirt with their curiosity."

"Perfect! I think that's enough for today, you should be all set to start settling in, Katniss. Make sure you don't argue with the windows open and be in each other's company as much as possible. Shouldn't be too hard."

"Yeah, I could've picked a better partner..." Katniss mumbled, starting to sort through the boxes she'd brought in earlier. Effie shook her head.

"I don't care what you do behind closed doors, as long as it doesn't leak into your performance out there." With that, Effie left and an awkward silence took her place.

"I sleep on the left side of the bed, and I get dibs on the shower." Peeta said quietly, grabbing a particularly large box to bring upstairs.

"Well alright then." Katniss mocked his voice as she brought another box behind him.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Katniss Everdeen, you little-" Peeta started yelling immediately after the door closed.

"What the hell, Mellark? What's your problem?"

"You took my fucking parking spot again, how many times do I have to tell you, this is my house!"

"I pay half the rent, I have just as much of a right to this house as you do." Katniss retorted, turning back to her work.

"It's my name on the title, you're living with me. It's my spot, don't take it."

"Yeah, that's not happening." She rolled her eyes.

"It better happen."

"Or what, you'll kick me out? Yeah, I don't think Effie will go for that." She poked the tip of her pen into her mouth and raised an eyebrow. Peeta rolled his eyes.

"Is that my pen?"

"Mine are still packed, of course it's your pen." She retorted.

"Would you mind taking it out of your mouth then?" In response, Katniss just put it back in between her teeth. "Katniss." He scowled. She shrugged. The doorbell rang and Peeta went to answer it without breaking eye contact with her. He finally did when Effie's high-pitched voice started chirping out ideas.

"And, I'd like you to get a haircut, Peeta, it's getting rather long in the back. Katniss, dear, would you please stop eating that pen? That's unsanitary." Katniss didn't stop.

"Did you need something, Effie?" Peeta interrupted her.

"Oh, yes. I wanted to drop off your script for the next episode, it'll be a fun one. While you're not too busy around here, why don't you two get comfortable with touching each other so it's not so awkward in public. It should be casual enough that people believe you're sleeping together. Alright, I think that's all, I have to get going, see you two at rehearsal tomorrow!" She dropped that on the two, then let herself out the door while Peeta and Katniss gaped at each other.

"Practice what?" Katniss whispered.

"Practice touching, you know," Peeta came closer, knowing this was an area that Katniss was largely uncomfortable with. "Casual fuck-buddy touches." He brushed her hair back and leaned down to kiss behind her ear. Katniss stiffened.

"Stop it, that wouldn't happen in public." She hissed. Peeta didn't stop, and used his teeth to nip the skin there. Katniss gasped, pulling away, her hand shooting up to slap him. Peeta caught her wrist and held it tightly. He grinned at her.

"Wanna try that again, sweetheart?" Katniss wrenched her hand away from him.

"Stop being an ass."

"I will when you do." She stood up and started to walk away, towards the stairs to their room, but Peeta caught her by the wrist again. She sighed.

"What."

"Stop taking my parking spot."

"No."

"Stop." He started walking closer, making Katniss back away from him slowly, until her back hit the wall. He smirked, stopping only inches away. Katniss's hearbeat was quick and unsteady.

"This is my house, my stuff. Don't park in my spot, don't chew on my pens, don't leave your fucking clothes everywhere in the bedroom. I may not be able to kick you out, but I can make you pretty uncomfortable until you stop." He threatened. Katniss tilted her chin up and looked him in the eyes defiantly.

"Shut up." She breathed. Peeta glanced down at her lips. Katniss didn't miss that.

"Make me." He growled back. Katniss mustered up her irritation and grabbed him by the back of his neck and pulled him forward, into her lips. She kissed him hard and deep.

She may not have much experience with love, but she's very skilled at the physical part thanks to her last failed relationship. She draws a low moan out of Peeta and mentally congratulates herself. He leans into her, resting his hands against the wall to the sides of her head. Katniss presses her body against his, moving her hands up into his hair. She decides she doesn't want him to cut it.

Peeta pulls away first, turning away and moving quickly for the stairs. She doesn't get a glimpse of his face until he passes a mirror. His cheeks are red and he looks... confused?

He doesn't slow down or look back until he's out of sight, and Katniss wonders what happened.

"What the hell, Mellark?" She calls after him. She hears their door slam shut and frowns.

Peeta doesn't come down for dinner, and she hears the shower start as she heads upstairs for bed. When he comes back into their bedroom, the lights are off and she pretends she's asleep. She thinks she hears a sigh as he settles himself into bed.

He's the one that started the physical part, she thinks. What does he have to be all moody about? She rolls her eyes again for good measure and tries to fall asleep.


	3. PART 1: CHAPTER 2

**I'm really sorry about the changing perspective, the past couple of chapters were in semi-3rd person, but I'll be doing the rest in 1st (either Katniss or Peeta depending on Things.)**

[Peeta's POV]

I never thought this would happen. Why does this have to happen now? Of all the shitty-

Let me back up.

I was not lying when I told Effie Trinket that I severely dislike Katniss Everdeen. Hell, I may even hate her. So I was really less than thrilled when Haymitch told us to live together. Something about "the damn chemistry getting stronger." I call bull. I was expecting the defiance, I was expecting the irrational childish behavior.

I was not expecting that kiss. The damn kiss I can still feel in my soul. Yeah, I'm a fucking mess.

When she kissed me, everything I'd thought about Katniss Everdeen flew out of my head. I couldn't even look at her afterwards, and later, when we went to bed, her presence kept me awake for hours.

So the next morning, I immediately scheduled an appointment with Haymitch, leaving the house before Katniss had even woken up.

"What's your problem, boy?" Haymitch smirked over his tumbler.

"You know damn well what my problem is." I growled at him.

"Oh, you mean that little ball of pure spite? Yeah, quite a problem to have indeed. How's domestic life going?"

"It fucking sucks, she's impossible, I can't have a normal day when she's around because she's messing with all my stuff!" I complain. "She's been _eating_ my pens." I tell him as if it's the worst possible crime she could've committed.

"Oh well, call the cops." He mutters sarcastically. I frown.

"When does she move out?"

"Until further notice, she stays put. Get used to it, boy."

"You're fucking with me." No end date to look forward to, no perceivable relief...

"No. I'm not. Enjoy paradise." He raises his glass to me and I leave immediately.

Fuckin bastard, thinks he's in control of me...

I drive out to the lake, hoping it'll be mercifully devoid of people so I can have some peace. I sigh in relief when I pull into one of many open parking spaces. I switch my blazer for a hoodie that I keep stashed under a seat for times like this.

When I start walking, I'm still raging over the situation. This girl - not even a nice girl, a bitch - forces her way into my life by audition and gets the role of my love-hate fuck buddy on the tv show I co-star. Then, it's not enough to be coworkers, no, we have to fake a romance in real life too. I don't even _like_ her to begin with! As added insult, she gets inserted into my house and I don't get any rest, even down to sharing my bed. This situation is completely ridiculous and fucked up.

I come to a bench that's fairly secluded, most people don't walk this far out, and it's surrounded by trees so I make myself comfortable. I let the wind blow around me and pull up my hood so I don't freeze. I shut off my phone, the last thing I need right now is to have Effie or the she-devil to call and ask where I am.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[Katniss's POV]

I don't see Peeta until after dinner, he's out doing who-knows-what after Haymitch calls me to tell me Peeta stormed out of his office and to stay out of his way. I decide that's too easy, and send Peeta a text to bother him more.

TO PEETA MELLARK

hi handsome ;)

Riling him up is far too easy, especially now that I live with him.

He comes in right after I'm done washing my dishes, looking refreshed. He doesn't glance my way. I hear him on the phone ten minutes later, and not long after, the doorbell rings.

Since he's upstairs, I decide to answer it. That's a nice, girlfriendy thing to do, right? I use Peeta's wallet that he left on the counter to pay the delivery boy and put the pizza on the counter. It's combination, and Peeta knows I hate extra stuff on my pizza. I text him that his pizza came and settle down in the living room to read a book.

He comes down a minute later and brings the entire box back upstairs without saying a word. I have to say, the silence is worse than the antagonism. I almost miss it. But I tuck my feet under the couch cushions and turn back to my book.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[Peeta's POV]

I'm resolving to ignore Katniss until she starts being a decent human being, as long as nobody's around, we literally don't need to interact at all.

That resolve lasted a couple hours before I started missing the clash. What is wrong with me.

I refused to seek her out, but I wasn't going to actively ignore her anymore, so when she came up to go to bed, I didn't fake sleep.

"Oh, you're awake." I heard her mumble. I didn't tear my eyes from my book, instead waiting for her to actually address me - she had to eventually, right? I couldn't be the only one that missed out interactions.

But she just brushed her teeth silently, then came back into the room, digging through boxes for pj's.

I felt my face grow warm as she didn't bother going into the bathroom to change, as she normally did. Instead, she just faced the wall and pulled her tshirt over her head. Then her bra. I couldn't look away. It was only after her sleep shirt was on that I pretended to focus my attention back on my reading. She did the same thing with her sweatpants, and I caught a glimpse of her dark blue boy shorts before the soft grey sweatpants covered them.

Am I reacting to fucking Katniss Everdeen's body? Fucking damn, this can't happen.

I closed my book and shut off my light before she noticed my blush.

What the hell? I don't blush...

 **Thanks for the support on this story! Given that Thanksgiving break is coming, I'm hopefully going to be updating my other stories as well, so def check those out (I have a couple that are at least vaguely similar to this one, and several that are opposites)**

 **Leave a review!**


	4. PART 1: CHAPTER 3

[Katniss POV]

"Wake up, jackass." I yell, hitting Peeta over the head with a pillow. He yells back and I grin.

"WHAT THE FUCK, EVERDEEN?"

"Effie just called, she told me to wake you up to get ready for the interview." I tell him, and when I finish, I hit him with the pillow one more time.

"Stop hitting me, Katniss." He says quietly, and I frown.

"Wow, you used my first name. What are we, friends now?"

"I talked to Haymitch yesterday, until further notice, you're not moving out. I'm just trying to be nice." He explains. I frown again, raising the pillow above my head.

"I like angry Peeta Mellark more." I say, hitting him in the stomach right before he rolled over.

"Okay, you like it when I hate you? Fine with me." He grumbles, getting up. I toss the pillow back onto my chair and start walking back to the bathroom. I've already washed my face and brushed my teeth, but I want to take a long time to dry my hair to annoy Peeta. He jogged past me, blocking the entrance with his stupid broad body, and smirks at me.

"Were you gonna hog the bathroom so I couldn't get ready in time? Too bad, sucker." He started to shut the door in my face, but I stuck out my foot to stop it.

"Oh shit, sorry my foot got caught in the door, you'll have to let me in."

He kicked my foot back out of the door and slammed it, locking it behind him.

"Sorry, what was that? I couldn't hear you, the door was closed. Now you get to listen to me pee." He yelled, while I scowled at the door, walking away. It's not the only bathroom in the house, but the other one doesn't have a hair dryer.

While I'm waiting, I go downstairs to make a cup of coffee. I find that he doesn't have any non-dairy creamer options, so I start a list of groceries to get.

I drink my coffee black, every sip making my face scrunch up with its bitterness.

Eventually, I hear the bathroom open, so I put my mug in the sink and head back upstairs to finish drying my hair.

Peeta is still in there, putting gel in his hair, so I stand next to him at the counter, blowdrying my hair.

About a half hour later, when I'm tying my shoes and Peeta is putting his belt on, we hear a knock at the door, and he goes down to answer it. I hear Effie's voice followed by Peeta and then Haymitch. Great, they're all here. I take a deep breath and go downstairs.

"There she is! And looking as... Katniss... as ever." Effie greets me with kisses on both cheeks, and I grimace at her description of me. "No matter, you'll be going straight into hair and makeup anyway, so it doesn't matter how you look now!" She chirps, and I sigh, dreading it. Haymitch smirks.

"How's domestic life going? I hear from the boy that it's going just spectacular. Have you done the deed yet?" He jokes. I blush and Peeta looks just as unaffected as he always does.

"That's none of your business, Haymitch." I say under my breath.

"I'm surprised you'd think I want to lower my standards that much, Haymitch." Peeta retorts. I flip him off right as Effie pipes up.

"Alright then! We should be going or we'll be late to set!"

We all head out, Peeta and I sitting in the backseat of Effie's extravagant custom Lamborghini. Haymitch turns around in his seat up front.

"Remember, casual touches. I want to see them. All day. No griping at any point that it's not just the four of us in a closed environment."

Both Peeta and I roll our eyes.

We make it just in time to get prepped for the interview, and while they have us stay in the outfits we have on, they polish our faces and hands and prep our hair. My nails are painted a neutral taupe and I turn down the wide variety of jewelry I'm offered.

"Alright, you're all set to go into the lounge while you wait for your cues. Don't eat anything and make sure you don't wrinkle your clothes." Effie tells us, escorting us into the small lounge backstage. There's one couch, several tall stools, a kitchenette and a small table. I immediately go to sit on the couch, and to my irritation, Peeta follows. "That's perfect, darlings! Have a good time!"

She closes the door and leaves us on our own to go do whatever Effie does when she's not bossing us around.

"So, casual touches." I say quietly. I realize this is exactly what Peeta and I fought about the other day, but I can't resist bringing it up. His confused look after our kiss makes me want to know more and this is the least awkward way to bring it up.

"Mhmmm..." He says, pulling out his phone. I ignore the fact that he doesn't want to participate and draw my fingers from his earlobe down to the collar of his shirt.

"Is this casual enough?" I ask innocently, tracing the outline of his ear. I can almost feel his shudder, and when he finally looks at me, I'm a little taken aback. His light blue eyes are dark.

"Are you trying to get me to talk about the other day?" He asks huskily. "Asking about what I thought of touching you?" He leans forward and lowers his voice. "The thought of you kissing me won't leave my head." He admits, his eyes not leaving mine except to drop down to my lips.

I have to say, this is pretty hot. I lean forward as well, matching his voice with mine.

"Is it something you want to try again?"

He looks at my lips again as I lick them, his hand coming up to cup my cheek.

"It might be. But I can't. You have lipstick on." He whispers. I turn my head slightly and point to my neck. In an instant, his hand is around my throat and his lips and teeth are on me. I'm not gonna lie, it feels incredible and I bite my lip to stifle a moan.

When he moves away, I can only imagine that my skin is bright pink. He licks the saliva off his lips and I can't look away.

"God, I hate you so much." I tell him, shaking my head. "But right now, I kind of wish I didn't." He frowns.

"You are one glorious mind fuck." He says, getting up and sitting on one of the stools and looking back at his phone.

I get up as well, going over to the small sink and dabbing cold water over my neck where Peeta had bitten me. To be honest, I couldn't wait for him to do it again. I just hope the evidence is faint when we go into the interview. Effie would die if I had anything even resembling a hickey.

Shortly after, Effie herself came back in and ushered us to the set and had us sit on the lime green loveseat. She didn't say anything about it, so I assume the red has faded enough. We wait for the interviewer to come out in silence while the tech team put mics on us and adjusted the lights and cameras. A makeup crew came in to give us a couple touch ups, and one of them dusted some powder over my neck, giving me a smirk as she did so. I ignored it.

Peeta looked absolutely bored until the second that the cameras were rolling, and the transformation almost makes me laugh every time. Once they were rolling, we mustered up all the charm we possibly could. Peeta put his arm behind me on the back of the couch, I touched his leg every now and then for emphasis, and when either one of us was talking, the other would focus solely on them, usually gazing into each others' eyes.

"So, to wrap things up on a romantic note, on your show, you start out as frenemies. At what point does your character go from disliking Katniss to falling in love with her?" The interviewer smiled and held her cue cards tightly waiting for a response. I smiled sweetly and looked at Peeta. He looked right back into my eyes.

"Well... Turns out I liked her more than originally planned. What else can I say."

My blush and bashful response were only slightly exaggerated for the cameras. Peeta sounded so genuine when he said this. And with what he was like this morning... Trying to be nice?

Maybe Peeta Mellark is a big fat liar.

Problem is, I can't tell which one is the lie.


	5. PART 1: CHAPTER 4

**I'm so glad you guys are liking this story! I've had it rolling around my brain for so long, and I've really enjoyed writing it so far. I really appreciate the reviews you've left and look forward to hearing what you think of this chapter!**

XxxxX

"So, you're attracted to me, huh?" Peeta said, leaning against the wall of his - our - bedroom. I rolled my eyes.

"You're hot, so what?"

"There are plenty of hot guys. But you want me."

"I'm living with you. Might as well make the best of it." I told him, trying to sound indifferent. I can tell it only partially worked.

"Okay whatever, sure. You know..." Peeta drifted off, walking closer to me. I closed the gap between us to attack his lips with mine. He responded immediately and walked me backwards to the bed.

We didn't say anything else as we went at it hard and fast. I thanked my last boyfriend for suggesting I go on birth control as Peeta finished inside me. He froze.

"Birth control?" He asked breathlessly. I nodded. He sighed in relief. "Good. I do NOT want to have a child with you." He muttered to himself and I slapped him.

"Fuck you, Mellark!" I push him off of me and roll over. I hear his faint laugh as I get up to go pee.

"Cmon, Everdeen, let it go," he calls out as I close the bathroom door. I hear him moving around our room and I flush the toilet and open the door. He's back in bed and an oversized tshirt lays on my side of the bed.

"What's this?" I ask him.

"We city folks call it a tshirt." He tells me, tossing it at me. I catch it.

"What, you don't like my pjs?"

"Well, not really, no. They're really old and kind of ugly."

"Excuse me, Mr. I-sleep-in-silk-pajamas, but not all of us are looking for a life of luxury." I huff, pulling the shirt over my head. Peeta laughs, gesturing to his body.

"I usually sleep naked, I just bought those so you wouldn't be uncomfortable. But now that you've seen me naked... I don't see the point of wearing them." He shrugged.

"Uh, you will not be sleeping naked. Put on some underwear at least, man slut." I say, getting into bed with him. He rolls his eyes and gets up.

"Fine. But only until we have sex the second time."

"You're lucky you got sex with me the first time, don't expect it again." I tell him, rolling over to face the wall and closing my eyes.

I fell asleep like that, with Peeta snoring softly on the other side of the bed.

I have no idea when we moved from that position to spooning by the morning. Regardless, when we both woke up, we nearly leapt out of bed and away from each other. Neither one of us mentioned it.

I can't lie, though. I'd woken up quite awhile before he realized I was awake. I liked being in his arms.

God, what is wrong with me.

XxxxX

"Screw you, Peeta!" I yell up the stairs at the closed door of the bedroom. A few seconds later, Peeta opens the door and comes down, still buttoning up his shirt.

"You already did." wink. "What the hell did I do?" He asks.

"You ate the last of the eggs so now there's nothing for breakfast." I tell him, irritated.

"If I'm remembering correctly, I ate cereal for breakfast yesterday because a certain someone else ate the last egg."

Dammit.

"Fuck you." I mutter under my breath. Yeah, it's my fault and I should apologize, but he's so damn obnoxious. I'll get more eggs later.

"Good morning to you too." He smiles, surprising me by backing me against the fridge and planting a kiss on my lips. This one is... different... from the rest of the kisses we've shared so far, and it catches me off guard. I kind of like this kind.

A moment after our lips separate, he turns around and starts fixing his own breakfast. I bite my lip and pour myself some cereal, trying to figure out what our dynamic is now.

I sit down at the small kitchen table with my bowl, and to my surprise, Peeta brings his coffee and toast to join me.

"So what are you scheduled for today?" He asks me. I finish chewing and think about what I'm supposed to do.

"Effie only told me I'm filming today, but she said it's supposed to be spontaneous and unscripted, so I shouldn't prepare for it."

"I'm not in that I guess, I don't have anything planned today. I thought I'd go to the gym or something, and maybe you'd join me. What time are you done?"

"I don't know, whenever we get a good take I guess. She didn't tell me anything."

"Odd, but it is Effie so not surprising."

"If I'm done early enough, I'll go to the gym. What time?"

"I don't know, I'll text you."

I nod and we continue eating in silence. Several times, Peeta opens and closes his mouth like he wants to say something.

"Do you... want to get groceries?" He finally asks. I squint at him. That's what he's having such a hard time asking me?

"Yeah, sure I guess..." I answer, shrugging.

Peeta's next words leave me speechless.

"Fuck it. I really like you."

 **That's the last chapter for part 1! I'll update soon (hopefully) with the first chapter for part 2. Please leave me a review with your thoughts! They mean so much to me and honestly do inspire me to update quicker. You don't need an account to leave a review:) Thank you for reading!**


	6. PART 2: CLASH

**Here's the first chapter of Part 2, and I really like how this chapter turned out - it's a pretty long one (sorry and you're welcome), and there's a bit of action. I'm planning on continuing this 'evening' in one more chapter, but don't want this one to get too long.**

 **Finals are this week and this is my mode of procrastinating, so I may be updating my other stories as well if I have time here and there. No promises though.. you'll just have to follow the story to see when I post an update...**

"What the fuck do you mean, 'you really like me?'" I raise my voice, dropping my spoon into my bowl with a loud 'tink.' Peeta flinches.

"I knew you were gonna do this..." He sighs to himself.

"Well of course I'm gonna do this, what did you expect?" I run my hand over my face. "You hate me! We literally have an entire tv show about how we hate each other!"

"On the show, we're secretly dating, remember?" He points at me, eyebrows raised. "And I don't know, maybe living with a girl who I kind of hate but am supposedly 'dating' in real life but also dating on a reality show where we're also hiding that we're dating and covering it up by pretending to hate each other, maybe I got a little confused! Also, we did have sex last night." He says, exasperated. "I said I really like you, I'm not proposing for fuck's sake."

"Well what do you want me to do with that information?" I ask, genuinely confused. Does he want to actually date me? Have more heart-to-heart talks? Fuck more?

"I don't know, maybe tell me you like me too? How do you feel?"

"I don't know, I wasn't expecting you to say that." I admit. He looks both hurt and embarrassed, and for a second I feel bad. "Since when?" I ask.

"Since when what?"

"Since when did you start liking me?"

"Oh... I guess I just kinda realized I don't really hate you in that interview." Ah, I guessed right then.

"I knew you weren't that good of an actor." I say under my breath, and he frowns.

"What are you talking about, I'm an excellent actor. I've fooled everyone - people are convinced that I'm in love with you, which I'm not, and that I hate you, which I don't."

"I think that's more because you don't know whether you hate me or love me yourself." I point out, surprised at my intuition. I've been doing a great job reading him, and I congratulate myself.

"Well, I could sure use some help figuring it out." He suggests with a little smile, trying to be cute.

"You're on your own on that one, buddy." I say, finishing my cereal and getting up to put my bowl in the sink.

"One point against." He mutters, chugging the last of his coffee.

"Good," I retort. He holds up two fingers and heads up stairs.

xXx

It was a rough day of filming, and on my way home, I remember that Peeta wanted to go to the gym tonight. I figure working out would be a good way to let off some steam, so I send him a text.

K: What are you doing

K: I mean besides thinking about me

typing...

typing...

typing...

P: nothing

K: gym?

P: thought u were mad at me

K: I was

K: am

K: but who else am I gonna work out w

P: k fine. when do u wanna go

K: I'm Ubering back home now, be there in 10

P: ok, i'll be ready when u get here

I closed the message and opened up a workout app. I really would like to wrestle or hit something, but it's probably too late to get a trainer to work with. I guess I'll have to just find a punching bag somewhere. I scrolled through the options looking for something other than ab and butt workouts. I like my boyish figure, and have no use for abs.

I settle on a high energy workout that involves a partner. I open it up and skim over the directions. This could be fun.

xXx

"Wow, you weren't kidding." I say, almost tripping over Peeta as he sits in the entryway to our place. His running shoes are on and he's in athletic wear, ready to go. "I'm gonna go change real quick." I tell him, tossing my phone onto the bench next to him and starting to unbutton my shirt as jog up the stairs. I glance at him in the mirror on my way up, and see his eyes following my movements, looking like he's waiting to see my shirt come off. I wink at him and drop it a second before I go into our room and out of his sight. I hear his groan behind me.

When I get in our room, I finish stripping and put on spandex shorts and a sports bra. It's a warm night, so I just grab an extra jacket and a hairtie before heading out.

I sit on the bench next to him as I put my gym shoes on, purposefully sticking my butt out a little bit as I leaned forward.

"What's your goal with this?" He says, and I look over my shoulder at him.

"With what?"

"With all this seducing and stuff. Do you want to just irritate me or is this for a reason?" He asks.

"Maybe a little bit of both," I say with a smile. "It's fun to irritate you, now I have a whole new angle." I tell him. "By the way, I found a workout I wanna do that requires a partner, you game?"

He shrugs, picking up my phone and putting them both in his shorts pocket with his as I stand. He'd picked up this little habit after many events when I couldn't carry my phone in my hand and didn't have pockets in my dress.

"Sure, why not." He says, opening the door and grabbing his keys. "What's the worst that could happen."

I grin.

xXx

We warm up with some cardio and stretches - I impress him with my flexibility, but I have to say, he's a lot stronger than I realized. We move to the room with the padded floors that we reserved.

"This is a contact workout." I warn him. "You think you can handle that? I mean, I'm pretty agile."

Peeta scoffs, tossing the towel he'd been holding away.

"I would gladly volunteer myself to be slammed against a wall and make out with you. I'd take one for the team."

"How generous." I roll my eyes, taking a stance. My body remembers this workout from my exercise addiction phase, and my old partner and I had sex afterwards 100% of the time.

Peeta knows his steps as well, having done similar workouts (more like wrestling matches) in high school. Both of us anticipate the others' moves, and circle around for a few seconds.

He's the first to strike, going for my leg with his foot. I dodge, moving slightly behind him and striking him between the shoulder blades. He stumbles forward a step and turns around, lunging for me. Our opening moves are awkward as we get a feel for each others' style, but we start getting the hang of it quickly.

Soon, we're both sweating and he has my arm pinned to his side while my legs snake around his and lock behind his knees. His other hand is wrapped around my wrist as I squirm to get out of his grip.

"Come on, Everdeen, tap out. I'm stronger, you'll never escape." He practically sneers at me, his teeth gritted. I don't answer, instead, using my legs to pull myself up on top of him, the swift movement catching him by surprise and freeing my arms. My hands grab for his wrists and pin them above his head, and I wrap my legs around his like a grapevine.

"Who's got the upper hand now?" I say with a smirk, giving my hips a little rock over his and biting my lip.

"Fuck you!" He grunts, and in an equally fast movement, flips me over, using his weight to pin me to the mat. I squeak in surprise, and as his weight starts to crush me, I tap the mat three times. He eases himself off me, wiping sweat from his face with his arm.

"Good fight, Everdeen." He says, holding his hand out. I assume he's going to help me up, and take it. He glances down at it with a smile. "I was going for a high five but this is fine."

I scowl and slap his hand away. "Bastard." I grunt, heaving myself up. My tight shorts had ridden up my butt a bit, and my sports bra had shifted up, exposing my underboob. As I stood, dabbing a towel over my face, I caught Peeta's eyes.

"You want me?" I ask him, my voice deep and sensual. He blinks a couple times.

"The thought of your lips on my neck is driving me fucking insane." He says, getting up off the mat as well, and heading over to where his water bottle is. I follow him, adjusting my clothes as I walk. He turns around, startling me, and I run into his chest. Instinctively, he grabs my arms to steady me, and I look up at him.

"Fuck, you look delicious right now." He says huskily, dipping his head down towards my neck as he did before our last interview. I tilt my head to expose my throat.

"Take a bite," I encourage him, and he does. I bite back a moan - we're having sex tonight. He pulls away and releases me.

"What even are we at this point?" He asks, turning around again to grab his water. I shrug.

"Enemies with benefits?" I suggest. He laughs once.

"Okay, sure."

We don't say much of anything until we get home later. I jump in the shower first, keeping my hair dry in a knot on top of my head. I'll detangle it later. I drop the soap when Peeta opens the curtain, and I shriek.

"Peeta!"

"Sorry, I forgot my razor in here this morning." He shrugs, grabbing it from the shelf and pulling the curtain closed. I'm more startled than anything else, and I shake my head as I stoop down to pick up the soap. I hear his electric razor turn on and stick my head out of the shower. His hair is wet, and he's in different clothes, so he probably just showered downstairs.

"You're shaving tonight?"

"Just above my ears. I don't want a haircut, but I hate when the hairs tickle my ears." I roll my eyes and close the curtain again.

"Don't leave the clippings on the sink when you're done."

"Sorry, whose house is this again?" He asks in a mocking voice, and I ignore him, turning off the shower. I reach outside the curtain to the towel rack, and find it empty.

"Peeta, where's my towel?" I ask, irritated.

"It's over here on the counter." He says, casually.

"Why is it over there?"

"So I can do this," he says, putting down the razor, picking up my towel and opening it up towards me.

I look at him warily.

"C'mon, hop out." He invites me, gesturing to the mat on the floor with the towel still open in his arms. I squint at him, stepping out of the tub and turning around towards him. He wraps me up in the towel and keeps his arms around me, and I have to admit that it's nice.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm just being a good roommate." He tells me innocently. I shake my head.

"This is how you treat your roommates?" I ask, eyebrows raised. He laughs, releasing me.

"Only the cute ones." He goes back to trimming his hair, and I look at him weirdly before going into our bedroom.

 **Please leave me a review on this chapter/story - you don't need an account to leave one! I'd like to hear your feedback about what you think of them and/or where you'd like this story to go from here!**


	7. PART 2: CHAPTER 6

**I know I just put an update up, but here's another one! I'm kind of on a roll with this story, so I may put another update up this week, we'll see. My finals are pretty easy, too, so I don't have a lot to do left. How do you guys like this story so far? How do you feel about the direction it's taking? This one has gotten to be one of my favorites on my page, but I'll be wrapping it up before too long. Until then, though, enjoy this chapter and leave me a quick review!**

Once I'm out of the bathroom, I dry myself off and tuck the corner of the towel in so I don't have to hold it up. I think about our 'relationship' now, wondering what to make of it. Theoretically, I could just tell Peeta I like him, we have sex, we're nice to each other, then what? Part of the spark in our relationship is that we clash so much, which makes it more fun when we get along, sleep together and do nice things for each other. Plus, I don't know how long that will last. If we date and break up, we still have to see each other on the show all the time and pretend to be dating there too.

That's a thought process for another day, I think to myself, and go to the mirror in front of the dresser to grab my hairbrush.

"Can I do that?" I hear Peeta ask as he comes in from the bathroom. I shrug.

"I guess, weirdo." I hand him the hairbrush and follow him to the bed. He sits against the headboard with a little smile on his face and pats the space in front of him. "What's going on with you? You're being all nice and cute." I frown as I sit in front of him.

"You think I'm cute?" He asks, his smile getting wider. I shrug again.

"Yeah, I guess. I don't know how to react." He pulls the band out of my hair gently, letting it fall down and starting to brush it out. My hair is a knotted mess, and I settle myself in for this to take awhile.

"How do you feel about me now?" He asks, curiously. "Any new thoughts?"

"I mean... you'd be a cute boyfriend, I guess, but I kind of like our relationship as it is. It's easier." I tell him, his hands in my hair having some sort of a relaxing, hypnotic feel.

"What do you like about it? Dating doesn't have to change everything. I like us too."

"I don't think most couples who are dating actively antagonize each other... or hate each other for that matter. I'm not entirely sure that I don't hate you still." I admit.

"Why did you hate me before?"

"Probably because you hated me, I don't like people who don't like me. Plus, you come across as really pretentious when cameras aren't around. Why did you originally hate me?"

"Same reason, actually. You seemed stuck up and obnoxious, and then I just didn't really care to get to know you." He told me, pausing his brushing. I tilt my head back slightly to encourage him to keep going.

"I guess that makes both of us pretentious." I laugh once, adjusting my towel around my boobs. Peeta's hands smoothed over the section he'd brushed out. "That feels really nice," I yawn. He laughs a little.

"Are you falling asleep?"

"No..." I lie, yawning again. He keeps brushing and my eyes start to close. "Okay, maybe."

He puts the hairbrush down and wraps his arms around my middle, pulling me close to his chest.

"I'm okay with that, get comfy." He suggests, and I turn my face towards him and I feel his body relax, his legs resting against mine.

I must fall asleep right after that, because the next thing I'm aware of is being tucked against his body laying down. One of my legs is sandwiched between his, and the other is over his hip, keeping his crotch against mine. My face is against his chest using his bicep as a pillow. The bathroom light is still on, but his bedside table lamp is off.

This is kinda nice...

I can tell when he wakes up. He licks his lips and tips his head down.

"Katniss?" He says in his sleepy voice. I hm in response. "You okay?"

"Yeah, just woke up for some reason. I'm gonna pee and turn that light off." I tell him, de-tangling myself. He nods and adjusts his pillow to go back to sleep.

I realize as I get up that I'm still naked, my towel having fallen off long ago, but don't really find myself caring. Peeta is wearing what he was earlier - basketball shorts and a tshirt.

I grope around the now dark room when I'm done, trying to find my way back to bed. I crawl back under the covers, but stay on my side of the bed. It's cold over here, though, and I miss being curled up against Peeta.

I smile as his arm wraps around my waist and pulls me back to his body, and I wrap my leg back around his hip. Is this what we'd be like if we were dating? I might be okay with that.

xXx

(Peeta's POV)

I woke up early the next morning, my arm numb under Katniss's head. I carefully remove myself from the tangle, waving my arm around as I get up and hoping the feeling will return to it.

I quietly go downstairs to make myself some breakfast. Remembering that we still need groceries, I grab my keys and head out to the store. I can probably make it back before she even wakes up, so I don't bother with a note. She can text me if she wakes up before I'm back.

Nobody recognizes me in the store, for which I'm thankful, and I get out of the store and head home quickly. I hum to myself as I put the groceries away, and start the coffee maker. I hear movement upstairs, but decide to just eat first and then go back up.

As I eat my eggs, I scroll through the news, seeing plenty of pictures of me and Katniss walking around, coming and going from our house, and headlines like "TV STARS DENY RELATIONSHIP AMIDST COHABITATION RUMORS." I smirk, Effie has done a good job.

I wash my dishes and head back upstairs to our room, surprised to see Katniss not only wearing a skirt, but also putting makeup on.

"What's the occasion?" I ask, picking up my toothbrush.

"What, I can't just dress up one day to surprise my not-boyfriend?" She says, putting mascara on. I pull my toothbrush out of my mouth.

"Well, first off, that is a little weird. Also, it's you, I didn't know you owned any skirts." She shrugs.

"Yeah, I own a few. I'm dressing up because my sister is coming into town and I thought we could go get lunch with her. She thinks we're dating."

"There it is. You haven't told her what's going on? I thought you guys were super close?"

"I mean... we are... but I don't tell her everything. She's still pretty young." She says, going back to her makeup.

"How old is she?"

"23," Katniss says, and I laugh. She frowns at me and I put my hands up.

"Sorry, sorry. I think she can handle the truth, Katniss. She's old enough to buy alcohol."

"I'm still not going to tell her. This situation is screwed up enough as is."

"Okay, fair. I'll play along then." I said, walking up behind her and looking at her through the mirror. I rest my hands on her shoulders, caressing them with my thumbs. She smiles.

"Yeah, that's perfect." She says, putting the mascara down and picking up a perfume bottle. Since when does Katniss own all these girly things?

xXx

"Katniss!" I hear a girl yell, and I turn to see a pretty blonde waving. That's Katniss's sister? I guess I've never seen pictures or anything, but these two couldn't look more different.

"Prim!" Katniss yells back, moving through the busy subway platform to get to her sister. I follow a few steps behind.

"So, THIS is Peeta." Prim says, eyeing me up and down. "Very nice. I've seen your show, but you seem taller in person." I shrug.

"I get that a lot. There are a lot of tall guys on the show. Nice to meet you, Prim, Katniss hasn't stopped talking about you." I shake her gloved hand. Who wears gloves?

"Yeah, she's been known to do that. Well, let's go to lunch!" She takes Katniss's hand to lead her towards the exit, and I grab Katniss's wrist so I don't get lost in the crowds.

We come back above ground again and make our way to the restaurant. I adjust my grip on Katniss to loosely hold her hand, and she glances back at me briefly. I shrug. We're supposed to be dating, right?

When we get seated, I sit across from the girls, and sort of feel like I'm being interviewed. We place our orders amidst some small talk, and then Prim puts her hands down on the table.

"Oh. My god, you wouldn't believe what happened to me last week." She starts. "So, I'm an ER nurse, right? I see some wild things in there - we amputated a guy's toe yesterday and that wasn't the weirdest thing that day. So last week, this guy comes in, right? And he's bleeding all over his crotch-"

I glance over at Katniss, knowing how squeamish she is. Her sister must know this too, and my suspicions are confirmed when she gets paler with every word and takes a drink of her water.

"The dog bit his dick off! Can you imagine!" Prim exclaims in a stage whisper, looking around her. "Clean off!" She shakes her head and I laugh, my hand moving to my own dick instinctively.

"Wow, it just wasn't his day, huh."

"Wild..." Katniss echoes, and her sister laughs.

"Anyway, just wanted to get that one out there. How have you guys been?"

We chatted, ate, and went back to our house. Prim was only there for the day, but they wanted to hang out at home, and I had work to do.

When we got inside, the girls took residence of the couch, so I grabbed my laptop and went upstairs. I smiled when I heard Katniss laughing, it's such a pretty sound that I rarely get to hear. Her real laugh is very different from the one she uses on our show. I'm glad she's having a good time with her sister, and I think it'll put her in a much better mood for a couple days.

She's so different around her sister, though. So reserved and somewhat girly, it's kind of strange to watch. I don't know if that's just how she is, or if she tries to be more like her sister to connect with her.

I hear her footsteps coming up the stairs awhile later, and I look up.

"Prim and I are going to McDonalds, do you want anything?" She asks, popping her head in the door.

"I want you, but I'll settle for a large fry." I tell her with a wink. She rolls her eyes and looks over her shoulder for a second before coming in the room.

"You're an idiot, you know that?" She tells me, tipping my chin up to give me a kiss.

"What was that for? I'm not complaining, but-" I ask, confused as she starts to leave the room. She shrugs.

"I just felt like it."

 **Tell me what you think of this! I really enjoyed this chapter. I had kind of a smutty scene I ended up taking out because I didn't think it fit the timeline, but there may be one coming up... Leave me a review!**


	8. PART 2: CHAPTER 7

**Finally posting updates for these, I don't know how many chapters are left but I'd like to get this one and the witch one wrapped up by the end of the summer. What do you think of Prim in this one? Should I have her come back?**

(Katniss's POV)

"So, when were you gonna tell me how hot Peeta is?" My little sister winked at me. We sat at the station again, waiting for her train home.

"I uh... I didn't really think about that. I mean, I know he's hot. That's why I'm with him. Wait, that came out wrong..." I rambled, feeling my face grow warmer as I dug myself deeper. Prim just laughed.

"You've always been so awkward about boys. It's okay, Katniss, I can see you really like him and he seems like a good guy."

"Yeah, he is." I told her truthfully. "Your turn, any significant others for you?"

"No, Rory and I are broken up again and I'm waiting to see if it's actually over this time. We can never agree on anything, including whether or not we should be together. Plus, he's in New York right now for school so I won't see him for awhile anyway."

"I'm sorry, that's a bummer."

"Not really, it's kind of a relief to be single for now. Plus, the breakup sex... amazing." She grinned at me, knowing full well how much I hate hearing her talk about sex. I'm sure my face said it all, and she laughed.

"I'm just messing with you, Katniss. Anyways, now I can take trips like this to see my sister whenever I want!" She grinned, and I couldn't help but smile back. It is nice to see her for a change, we haven't gotten together in awhile because of how insane my filming schedule has been. Next season, I hear that it'll be even worse since Peeta and I are being given more screen time - plus a nice bump in salary.

"I'm glad you're happy. It's been really nice to see you again, Prim."

"It's good to see you too. You seem so much older now, especially after watching your show."

"I know, it must be weird watching it since it's not really me on there."

"Yeah, it threw me off at first, but I've kinda gotten used to it. As long as it doesn't get too steamy between you two, I'll keep watching." Prim nudged me with her elbow. I laughed.

"I don't know how likely that is, I haven't gotten next season's scripts yet."

"Well give me a call once you do, I wanna hear all about it."

I assured her that I would. I know there's a confidentiality agreement, but I still share most of the script with Prim. It's not like she's going to tell anyone.

We only had a few minutes left before her train was due, so we stood up to walk to where she would board.

"When will you come visit me?" She asked, leaning in to give me a hug.

"Oh, I don't know. We'll have to see. I promise to jump on the earliest opportunity, though."

"Alright, I'm going to hold you to that." Her train came thundering down the track and our voices were drowned out as we said our goodbyes.

"I'll see you soon!"

"Bye, Prim, keep me posted with the Rory thing."

"I will, don't worry. Bye!"

I got a little misty eyed, and waved at her as she boarded. The train pulled away from the station and I waved her off, waiting til it was out of sight before I turned back to the parking lot. I pulled out my phone to call an Uber.

As I got closer to the lot, I saw Peeta's car there waiting for me. I smiled as I walked over to it, cancelling my ride request.

"You came to pick me up?" I asked. He nodded.

"It's pretty late, I wanted to make sure you got home safe." He told me, and I rolled my eyes with a smile.

"Let's go home then."

xXx

We sat on the couch together while the tv played quietly in the background. I lay against Peeta's chest and his arms were wrapped around me, messing with the hem of my top while I posted a picture of me and Prim on my Instagram. He spoke as I hit post.

"Did you have fun today?" His voice echoed against my back.

"Yeah, it was good to see her. It's been a long time since we had time to visit."

"You got all dressed up."

"Yeah, she likes to take cute pictures when she visits for her Instagram. She has a lot of followers." I explain. "I personally don't care, but Prim likes her feed to look good, so by now I know to wear makeup and a nice outfit."

"Are you guys biological? You don't look anything alike."

"No, we're actually cousins, by my parents died when I was little, so Prim's parents adopted me. I don't remember my blood parents at all, and Prim was born shortly after they took me in."

We were quiet for a few minutes, and I put my phone away. Peeta rested one hand across my belly and took one of mine in the other.

"I still like you, by the way." He said quietly, resting his cheek on my head.

"I know." I don't know what else to say, so I don't say anything. I just nestle myself closer to him hoping he'll get the message.

xXx

(Peeta's POV)

The next day, we had a magazine interview scheduled, so I woke Katniss up and went to take a shower. While I was in there, I went through my usual interview-prep questions. What will next season hold for us, are Katniss and I dating, when will we get a spinoff show?

I jumped as Katniss pulled the curtain back with a big grin on her face.

"See? Not fun, is it?" She poked me in the side, reaching in to grab her face wash. I shook my head.

"You're ridiculous." I called as she closed the curtain and left me to my shower.

Katniss was still standing in our closet thumbing through her clothes when I got out.

"Can't find anything to wear?" I tease, startling her.

"No, I've already worn all these things to interviews. I'm out of options." She grumbled. "Being famous sucks sometimes."

"Okay, how about this? What if you took one of my dress shirts, rolled the cuffs up and tucked it into your jeans. It would look stylish and it may start some rumors." I suggest. She looks at me thoughtfully.

"You know... that would actually work. Effie would probably love it."

We get her all dressed up in my shirt, and I have to say... wow, I'm good at this. Not only does she look good in it, it's very clearly my size, plus I'm sure there are plenty of pictures of me in it, it's sort of an unusual shade of blue.

"You look great." I tell her, and she grins.

"This is actually so comfortable, why didn't we think of this before? I'm gonna steal all your clothes."

"Oh great, I've created a monster." I laugh, grabbing my phone and wallet and heading downstairs.

Effie and Haymitch showed up a few minutes later, and we all rode to the interview together. Effie babbled on about her latest idea for a designer shoe, and Haymitch grumbled every now and then. Soon enough, we got to the studio, and met the interviewers.

"So, this'll be all in print, but we'll do some pictures afterward to put in the magazine, sound good?" Cressida told us as we followed her down a hallway to the room we'd be working in. The set was a partial replica of the living room in our show, but just the two seater couch and a table with the matching decorations.

"We're aiming for photos that tease of a little more than friends between you two. Castor and Pollux will be your photographers. Let's sit down, shall we?"

Cressida spoke so fast, it was difficult to get more than an mhm or a nod in between sentences. Katniss hadn't said anything so far, and I can only hope her interview style is different.

As if on cue, she took a deep breath, turned on her recorder, and in a much slower tone, started asking us questions about our show and each of us as individuals. Everything was pretty standard until she asked the question I've always dreaded hearing:

"So, Peeta, we see your brothers and dad all the time, but why is your mother never at your events?"

My abusive mother and I hadn't been in the same room together for many years now ever since I filed a restraining order against her when I was first entering the limelight. My then agent had advised it mostly for my own peace of mind, and I haven't seen or heard of her since then. I'd never known how to address it, and fortunately, up until now, I'd never had to. As I opened my mouth, I felt Katniss's hand on my knee, and I caught her eye as she smiled.

"Well, Cressida, there are a lot of people that have... complicated... relationships with their parents." She started. "And sometimes, there isn't a lot we can do about it. Peeta's dad, however, has been nothing but supportive to both of us while we've been working on the show, as well as both of his brothers."

Cressida seemed disappointed in the answer, but moved on from it. I squeezed Katniss's hand in gratitude as we continued on with the interview.

The photoshoot was actually pretty fun. Castor called out directions and Pollux would arrange our props differently with each shot. Katniss and I were now very comfortable with each other physically, and that seemed to help our chemistry as well. Cressida was looking at the photos from a nearby monitor, and she seemed to like what she saw.

"Alright, and that's a wrap!" Castor finally told us, coming up to shake our hands. "Thank you guys for coming in. I can't wait to look at some of these shots, I think we got some good stuff in here."

We were escorted back out through the maze of sets and props around the studio, and Effie picked us up, thanking Cressida for her time.

While they were talking, I opened the door for Katniss and we got into the backseat together.

"Thanks for taking that question for me. She totally blindsided me." I told Katniss earnestly.

"Don't worry about it, I know it's tough. That was an unfair question, I hope it doesn't make it into the article at all." She said, taking my hand again. I smiled at her, wishing I could lean in for a kiss but knowing that anyone might be around with a camera waiting for such a moment.

Effie joined us and we headed back to our place. I couldn't wait to get in the shower and wash off the makeup they'd put on me.

"Thanks for picking us up, Effie. I'll see you tomorrow." Katniss told her, closing the door and looking up at me as Effie drove away. "You dying to hit the hay, or would you be down to go bowling tonight?"

"Bowling?" I asked, dubious. This is very random.

"Yeah, you know, throw a heavy ball at some heavy tall things? Knock them over? Might help let off some steam." She suggested. I shrug.

"Why not? Let's do it." We head into the house to change clothes. She took longer to do her hair so I went downstairs to wait for her to finish dressing.

"You ready for this?" She asks me, and I turn around. I can't help but laugh.

"Is that my high school wrestling team hoodie?"

"Well, it says Mellark on the back and it's pretty old, so I'm gonna go with yes?"

"Where did you find that? I thought I got rid of all my old crap."

"Yeah, well this somehow escaped and I found it in the back of your closet. Well, our closet. Do you like it?"

"Of course, you look adorable. Let's get this show on the road." I grab her hand and we walk out to my car, swinging our joint hands between us.

"So... Katniss Everdeen... are you taking me on a date?" I ask as we settle in for the drive.

"If you wanna call it that, sure."

"What do you wanna call it?" I ask, curious how else you would explain it.

"Two roommates hanging out?" She tries, but I glance pointedly at our hands on the consul. "Okay, I guess it is a date. I just wanna hang out and have a good time, okay?"

"Fair enough. I hope you know that I am a fantastic bowler." I brag.

"Well bummer, because I am really bad at it."

"I'm good at something you suck at? I thought you'd be good since it's aiming things at other things?"

"I never really bowled as a kid, sooo... yeah."

"It's high time you learn, then."

xXx

"You aim the ball like you would aim anything else. The trick is in the spin. If you let it go and it has much spin at all, it'll go into the gutter. The goal is to just throw it straight." I explain, handing Katniss one of the lighter balls.

"Okay, that's pretty straightforward. Let me give it a shot." Her first throw, she had a gutter ball. The second try, she threw the ball well, but it only hit two of the leftmost pins.

"Hey, it's your first throw of the night, don't sweat it." I tell her, grabbing my own ball and waiting for the pins to reset. I throw a strike, turning around to see Katniss grinning.

"That's good, right? You got a spare!" She said, picking her ball back up.

"I got a strike, a spare is when you knock all of them down but use both your tries." I tell her, smiling. She's very cute when she gets excited.

"Okay, let me see if I can hit more this time then. Show me again how it's done?"

I walk back up to her and explain the best arm form as well as the best stance, finding every excuse to touch her. She doesn't seem to mind, and listens attentively to what I'm saying. When she throws, she has much better form than before, and actually knocked down four pins. She turned around excitedly.

"How was that?"

"Way better, you're doing great!" I encourage her. I'm having such an amazing time with her in this random, back street bowling alley with no paparazzi around. Since it's so late, there are only a few other lanes occupied, and so far nobody has approached us. I count this as an absolute win.

Well into our game, I tell Katniss I'm going to get some beers for us, and she nods, lining herself up to take her shot. I buy the beer, but on the way back, I see her carefully calculate and expertly throw the ball, knocking all the pins down. Because it was her second throw, it was counted as a spare.

Damn.

"Uh, Katniss?" I startle her, and she spins around, almost looking guilty.

"Oh sweet, beer!" She grabbed one out of my hand and started drinking it.

"Katniss, you just threw a perfect ball. Are you secretly good at bowling?" Katniss sighs, putting the beer down and looking at me for a few seconds before answering me.

"Yes, I am secretly good at bowling. But I wanted to have a good time with you tonight and thought you might like 'teaching' me how to bowl. Thought it might perk you up a bit." She explained. I blinked at her.

"But... why?"

"I knew you were overthinking everything, like us, your mom, our image, everything. I just wanted to help you relax and have a nice night out." She shrugged.

I didn't really know how to respond to that. The Katniss I'd known two weeks ago would never have done something like this for me.

"Katniss..." I begin, a smile slowly creeping onto my lips. "You like me. Like, _like me_ like me." I'm fully grinning now, and Katniss slaps her hand over my mouth.

"Shhh! Stop it, someone will hear you!"

"Like who, the guy six lanes down?" I tease her, pulling her hand away from my mouth. I kiss the inside of her wrist gently and she blushes.

"Shut up." She pulls her hand away and starts to turn, but I grab her shoulders.

"It's okay, Katniss. I like like you too." I tell her mock-seriously. She scrunches up her face and slaps my arm, but I can tell she's hiding a smile.

I let go of her and grab my ball.

"But I hope you know that now, we're done messing around. Whoever has the best score of these last five frames wins, deal?"

"Oh you're on, punk. I'm gonna cream your ass." She tells me, sitting at the table and putting her feet up on the chair next to her, chugging her beer. God, I am so attracted to her right now...

Bowling. Right.

I bowl another strike, and Katniss rolls her eyes, getting up to take her shot. She also throws a perfect ball. I curse under my breath. Damn, she actually is really good. I should've known, of course she's a good bowler.

Shot after shot, we both throw strikes. Right before my last frame, she saunters up to me to whisper in my ear.

"I haven't been wearing underwear all day." She licks my earlobe and walks back to the table, cocking her eyebrow at me when I turn back.

"C'mon, that's the best you got?" I ask her, scoffing. I turn back around to throw, but then I start thinking about how she was sitting on my lap earlier, no underwear on... and how her ass had cradled my crotch earlier when I was showing her how to throw... Damn it, she's good at playing dirty too.

I throw my ball, but put too much spin into it, and it only knocks over half the pins. As I go to pick up my ball for my second throw, I glare at her. She smiles back at me angelically. Damn her.

I clear my head and throw the ball again, knocking down all but two of the remaining pins. Dammit. If I can get her thrown off enough that she doesn't get another perfect strike, maybe I can still win this.

She goes to grab her ball and I try to think quickly. What could I possibly say that would throw her off that much?

"Katniss." I call out, right before she throws. She turns around, her eyebrows raised. My mind races. I hadn't thought of anything... oh no, she can tell I'm floundering... I say the first words to come to my mouth: "Throw straight."

I curse myself. What a dumb thing to say...

Katniss throws a gutter ball what looks like is on purpose.

"I can still beat you with a spare." She confirms my suspicious. "But I wanna see if you can come up with anything better this time." She finishes, grabbing her ball and resting it on her hip, taunting me.

Fuck, if that isn't one of the hottest images...

Well, my way with words has departed, and I'm left with one option. I stand up, walk over to her, lean in and kiss her with everything I've got. I feel her frame relax into me, and I know I have her now. When I start to feel her really getting into it, I pull away, putting my hands up and walking backwards. She watches me for a second before moving back to the lane to take her shot.

Her stance is off and her form is sloppy. I can tell before the ball even leaves her hand that I've won, and I smile to myself.

Her ball knocks over exactly three pins, and causes a fourth one to wobble, but not fall.

"Yes! I beat you at something finally!" I grin, walking back up to her as she shakes her head smiling.

"You're such a dork." She says under her breath.

"Yes I am, and I don't care." I rejoice, pulling her back in for another kiss. Of its own accord, my hand wanders down past her waist and inside her jeans, and I moan against her mouth. She really isn't wearing any underwear. Damn.

 **Wow, did not mean for this chapter to be so long. Hope you enjoyed reading, don't forget to leave me a review!**


	9. PART 2: CHAPTER 8

**This chapter wraps up part 2, next up will be the final 'act' of this story, and while I love writing this particular au, I'll be so happy to have the whole thing posted and hear what you guys have to say about it.** **I've written so many words in the last two weeks, if you're bored or curious, check out my other stories after you've read this chapter. I've been updating like crazy and I have two new ones up! I hope you enjoy the last chapter of part 2!**

(Katniss's POV)

It's amazing that Peeta didn't figure out pretty early on that I was faking being bad at bowling. I've been told on many occasions that I'm not a convincing actor, which is why I'm on reality tv and now a show playing an actual character. What's on our show is mainly real.

That being said, I don't really know where we stand now. I played our relationship off to Prim as something it wasn't, as with the press. It's easy to make it something that it's not. But I don't really know what it _is._

"Is it okay if I turn the light off?" Peeta's voice interrupts my thoughts. I roll over in bed and look at Peeta, who of late, has been going to bed in nothing but his boxers. I can't say that I mind. I smile and nod at him.

I plug my phone into the wall and he puts his book away and shuts the light off. We lay down and move closer together with him on his back and me on my side right next to him. His arms wrap around me automatically, and mine rests on his stomach.

"I'm sleeping in tomorrow." I tell Peeta's chest as we settle in for the night. My legs wrap around his and my head rests on his shoulder. I'm sure his arm goes numb every night but he's never mentioned it. Being Peeta.

"Okay, I was going to get up to work out, but I'll sleep in a little too." He brushes my hair off my face and shoulders, finger combing it gently. It feels very nice and puts me to sleep every time. "Did I tell you how beautiful you looked today?" He whispers.

"Yeah, a few times. Thanks." I feel my blush creeping up my neck. He laughs lightly.

"Thank you for taking me out. I had a great time. Felt like a real date."

"How so?" I asked, a tiny bit offended that he didn't consider it a 'real date.' That is really my fault though.

"Went out with an attractive person who I really like, one of us let the other win the game and we got beers."

"Yeah, you're right. That does seem like a real date."

"Did you want it to be real?"

His question hangs in the air, and the longer I don't answer, the more I don't know how to answer it. Our room feels very quiet and the silence becomes uncomfortable.

"I know I've kissed you like, ten times, but just like, can I have another ten, please?" He asks abruptly, and I sit up to look at his face in the dim room.

"You know we're not really a couple, right?" I tell him cautiously. I don't want him getting ideas.

I say, cuddled up with him in bed half naked while he's in his underwear in the home we share after a fun night out. He just looks at me, biting his bottom lip, his stupid pretty big blue eyes boring holes into my skull. I laugh once without humor.

"What?"

"This is ridiculous! It's so... strange and fucked up!" I sputter. I scowl at him as he starts laughing. After a few seconds, I have to laugh with him.

"I know, it's fucked up. I'm just trying to make the best of it, Katniss. I'm getting really mixed signals from you today."

"Okay, fine, let's kiss then. Platonically, as friends." I tell him, so devoid of any romance that he rolls his eyes and pulls me down to him.

"Wow, keep talking like that and I'll have you impregnated by the end of the night." He jokes, our lips meeting.

Regardless of our status, kissing Peeta is the equivalent of a cool glass of lemonade on a hot day mixed with the feeling of blowing something up. It's relieving and exhilarating. I always enjoy our kisses in private more than the ones on set, probably because it feels more intimate.

Peeta seems to enjoy it as well, and I press my hips into his gently, testing the waters. His hand moves down my side to grab at my thigh, pulling my hips closer, back over his. He moans lightly against my lips, and that moan sends a shiver down my spine.

Fuck, I love kissing Peeta.

My shirt comes off a few seconds later, followed shortly by the boy shorts I wear to bed. Peeta holds me at arms length for a second, biting his lip again and looking at my naked body. When his eyes meet mine again, there's a heat behind them that I've come to recognize. It never fails to excite me.

I move back down over his body again, our bare chests meeting and his hands roaming all over me. There's a delicious energy in the air as he slides his boxers off his hips and kicks them off his legs.

"Can I-" He starts, meeting my eyes. I cut him off as my lips collide with his again. I pull back only slightly and murmur against his lips,

"Please."

Our bodies have grown more accustomed to moving in sync with each other, and that only makes the sex better. We've had sex a couple of times by now, but even just living together has made our chemistry so much stronger.

As with every other aspect of his life, Peeta is a generous lover, and by the time we're both done, I'm exhausted and ready to sleep.

"Hey Katniss." His voice breaks the peaceful quiet.

"Hm?"

"I really like you. A lot." He tells me again. I smile.

"Okay, Peeta." I smile, getting comfortable and ready to sleep. He pulls me against his body and whispers into my ear.

"And I know you like me too."

"And how do you know that?" I challenge.

"On set, you just let me kiss you. But when it's just you and me, when you really mean it, you're the one kissing me. You mean it at home."

I think about what he's saying.

"Okay, maybe I do like you." I tell him, turning around to see his beaming face. "What does that make us?"

"Well... I guess it would make everything more complicated."

"Yeah, it probably would. Do you think it's worth it?" I ask, almost dreading his answer. If he says yes, we risk a lot of pain and regret. If he says no... that's different pain and regret.

"Do you, Katniss?"

"I... I don't know. I don't know what I want." I admit.

"I'm gonna keep your heart safe, do you trust me?"

 **Thank you for reading! Leave me a review with your thoughts on this chapter, do you guys like chapters where they get a little physical, or do you prefer reading about their dates? Let me know in your review!**


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